Thursday, March 31, 2016

My card was inspired by Vanessa Menhorn's beautiful card. I love how she used the striped background paper along with the large circle and large die cut sentiment. I actually pulled out some Pinkfresh Studio papers I had leftover from a Simon Says Stamp card kit and used them on my card. The background paper, the word "hey" on the balloon, and the "happy" on the birds breast are all from Pinkfreshstudio. The die cut circles were cut using Lil Inkers dies. The bird, balloon, and tiny hearts are from Winnie & Walter's So Tweet with Evelin T. Designs stamp set, and the branch the bird is resting on is from Happiest of Holidays with Evelin T. Designs. The word "birthday" was cut from gold paper using a die from The Big, the Bold and Party Cutaways. I finished my card with a few gold sequins. This was truly a delight to make. I love how well the Winnie & Walter stamps work with the Pinkfreshstudio papers!

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

I was inspired by elements from all 3 of the cards featured on the Winnie & Walter blog. From Shay's first card I was inspired by the blue and green woodgrain. From her second card I was inspired by her use of The Leaf Effect Cutaway using vellum, and the splatters and dots and sequins she used. From Heather's card I was inspired by her use of the Multifaceted Heart die, and her gold embossed sentiment, and the little sprig tucked behind her heart. It was really fun creating this using elements from ALL of the featured cards!

Additional supplies that I didn't mention above are:

Mini Scenery: Multigrain (the wood pattern stamp), and I used Wplus9 Falling for Blue and Last Leaf inks to stamp.
In Bloom: Addie's Garden (the leaves embossed in gold and fussy cut)
The Big, the Bold, and the Happy and My Precious (the sentiment, embossed in gold on vellum and fussy cut)
The Big, the Bold, and Extras (the tiny cluster of 3 dots, stamped with the Wplus9 inks)
Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

I hope that you'll visit Winnie & Walter and play along, this event will be happening all week long and I know that the fabulous W&W design team will inspire you!

Monday, March 28, 2016

Greetings! It's Monday and we have a new challenge for you at The Challenge! This week it's a masculine inspiration challenge.

I don't have any nautical themed stamps or dies in my collection so I wasn't sure what I would do when I saw this inspiration photo, but then I remembered that I had some patterned paper from Webster's Pages that would work perfectly. This card was super duper EASY to put together, I simply cut the patterned papers to size using zig zag stitch dies from Sugar Pea Designs and added the "happy birthday" sentiment from Practicing Creativity. I think the paper is so pretty that it really doesn't need much of anything else to adorn it.

I hope that you'll join us this week at The Challenge. The design team has created lots of inspiring cards, be sure to visit Lesley's blog and check them out!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Hi! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I played with a new stamp set today, Birdie Banners from Concord & 9th, and I'm entering my card at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.

I stamped the birds on hexagons (die from MFT), and colored with the solid image in the stamp set using distress inks (Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron and Salty Ocean). I stamped and cut out the little party hats and placed them on the birds. The dot border on the the left was made with a stamp from the set, as was the sentiment. I love that a "from all of us" stamp is included in this set.

That's all from me today, I'll be back on Monday with a card for The Challenge!

Friday, March 25, 2016

Hello there! Today I'm playing along with the current CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge. I used a new to me stamp set for this challenge, Pop Art Pineapple from Concord & 9th. I love the cute pineapples and sentiments in this stamp set!

The background paper is from the Stampin Up English Garden Designer Series. I thought it worked perfectly with the pineapple, the color and pattern have a bit of a tropical feel to me. I used an MFT stitched border die to add the detail to the white panel. Everything else is from the Pop Art Pineapple stamp set and coordinating dies. This card came together so quickly and easily and I just love how it turned out!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy your Easter if you celebrate it! Thanks for stopping by today :)

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Isn't that a fun and festive picture?!! Here is the card I came up with...

You can't go wrong with the adorable Giddy Bugs when you want to make a happy, festive card! Here I stamped them on white card stock then made masks of them so I could do my background blending (using Tumbled Glass distress ink). The Giddy Bugs are colored using Copic markers, and I added some white heart "cheeks" to them. I doodled a bit on them too adding the antenna with a black pen and the dots and collar with a white gel pen. For the sign/sentiment I used "happy birthday" from Sentiment Sampler and "love bug" from Giddy Bugs. I used some thin ribbon to make the frame for the sentiment. I wanted it to look like the bugs are holding up the sign while flying in the air, hope I achieved that? I also added some splatter to the background to mimic the confetti on the inspiration photo, and finished the card with some sequins. The base of the card is a pre-made card from Imaginisce.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Hello and welcome to a new inspiration photo at The Challenge! This one's a beauty that I'm sure you'll be very inspired by!

So many things to choose from here, the colors, the flowers, the gold frame, the books, stripes, polka dots, glass, the possibilities are endless!

To make my card I first stamped the stripes (inspired by the stacked books) on Tim Holtz watercolor paper (Watercolor Stripes background stamp from MFT) using distress stains (Abandoned Coral and Worn Lipstick). Next I embossed the blooms (Pen and Ink Dahlia from Impress Cards and Crafts) in gold. I then cut the panel using the largest Zig Zag Stitched die from Sugar Pea Designs (notice the zig zag pattern at the top of the candle bowl in the inspiration photo, I love picking out little details like this when I make my cards). The sentiment is from MFT's Amazing stamp set and Doubly Amazing dies. I finished the card with a few black enamel dots.

The Challenge design team and guests came up with an amazing variety of cards to inspire you so be sure to hop on over to Lesley's blog and take a peek. Then be sure to play along with us, I can't wait to see what you create using this wonderful inspiration photo!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Hello! Hope you're having a great weekend! We were supposed to get snow here in PA today, but it didn't happen, for which I'm very grateful. I'm ready now for Spring! I'm sharing a card with you today that I made for the Essentials by Ellen March Pin-Sights Challenge.

This board is lovely, although not my usual bright colors that I love so much, but it is fun to switch things up from time to time ;)

I decided to use the Mondo Hydrangea stamp and emboss it in gold. I also added a few of the individual petals. After I'd done my embossing I thought "oh shoot", I should have done this on watercolor paper! So I had to figure out a way to color the petals. I wanted a loose look so I knew I didn't want to use Copics. One of my favorite methods of coloring is using my ink blending tool and distress inks, but those petals are too small for that. Then I remembered I had some tiny ink daubers stashed somewhere, so I dug them out and used them to color. I first laid down some Bundled Sage distress ink in the flower centers (I thought that was a good color for the "succulent" on the board). I felt it needed another color so I decided to go with Old Paper distress ink because that has a greenish cast to it. I blended some of that onto my flowers and loved how it turned out! Next I colored the tiny flower centers with a green Zig Clean Color Real Brush pen. I sprayed the card with some Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine (hard to see in the photo but oh so lovely in real life!), and embossed the sentiment from Mondo Hydragea in gold on black paper. This was really a very easy card to make but I love the dramatic results. I know I'll be using those little daubers in the future when I want to get color into smaller spaces.

Friday, March 18, 2016

As soon as I saw this sketch I knew exactly which stamp I wanted to use to make my card!

I love this creative stamp set from Concord & 9th called Written in the Stars, and having lots of family members that live far away it's perfect for making cards to write them notes. For this card I used distress inks and my ink blending tool (Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Broken China and Tumbled Glass). After laying down the ink I added some water splatters, then I stamped the telephone lines and sentiment. Super easy, one layer card (something I don't make often but oh so easy to mail!)

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Hello, friends! I'm here with a last minute entry for the March Essentials by Ellen Mix It Up Challenge. This month they're mixing it up with Pretty Pink Posh. I don't own any PPP stamps or dies (although I love everything they have to offer), but I own lots of their gorgeous sequins!

I've been wanting to try out my new Distress Crayons that I got last month and today I finally had the time for some "messy" play!

I don't know much about using these crayons yet so I did some experimenting today. I used watercolor paper and first tried using the crayons directly on the paper and blending with my finger. The blending worked pretty well on untreated paper, but when I tried removing some of the crayon by placing the punchinella stencil over it and dabbing with a baby wipe not much of the crayon came off. So I flipped the paper over and added some gesso to it, which I've heard really helps. After the gesso was dry I again applied the crayons. This time the blending was easier, and when I placed the stencil on and used a baby wipe the crayon came off beautifully as you can see in the photo above. I used the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Hydrangea stamp and simply stamped over top in Versa Fine black ink. I then used my heat tool to dry everything. The sentiment is also from Mondo Hydrangea. To finish the card I added some 4mm clear Pretty Pink Posh sequins to some of the flower centers.

I guess I should mention my thinking behind using the 3 shades of Distress Crayons (Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, and Chipped Sapphire), with the hydrangea stamp. I love hydrangeas, and love the variegated colors in them, so I thought it would be fun to "color" the flower with the blended crayons, rather than actually coloring in the individual petals of the stamp. As for using the punchinella stencil, it's a riff on the tiny petals in the hydrangea stamp.

So there you have it. Hope you're having a terrific day, thanks for spending part of it with me :)

Hello there, so happy you dropped by today! It's the 15th of the month which means it's time for a new challenge at Sparkle & Shine! Our sponsor this time is Right at Home. The winner of this challenge will receive a $15.00 gift card to the Right at Home store.

Isn't that wreath adorable?! I was so taken with it that I decided I wanted to try and make a wreath for my card just like it!

OK, well not "exactly" just like it but pretty close, right? First I placed some polka dot vellum from PTI on a white card base. For the base of my wreath I used Reverse Confetti Wreaths Confetti Cuts and cut 3 of the large wreaths from Kraft card stock. I staggered them slightly to add some bulk to my wreath, then I wrapped some white heart lace around it to mimic the white ribbon in the inspiration photo. I used the cute rabbit from Hippity Hoppity to decorate my wreath, coloring him with Copics and fussy cutting him. I wanted to add some orange to my card so the little carrots were just perfect for this. I fussy cut each of those little buggers because I don't have the dies to this stamp set (why yes I am slightly crazy, thanks for asking lol!) I cut the bow using a Simon Says Stamp die and patterned paper from PTI. For the sentiment the word "happy" is from Winnie & Walter and the word "Easter" is from The Stamps of Life. I finished my wreath with some white sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I just love how this card came together! I hope that you'll be as inspired by the wreath as I was and play along with us. Not that you need to make a wreath card, be sure to check out all of the inspiring cards the Sparkle & Shine design team created for you!

Monday, March 14, 2016

Hello there! It's Monday, and you know what that means, time for a fun new challenge at The Challenge! This week it's a color challenge with colors I'm sure you'll love.

To make my card I cut gray and blue card stock with The Leaf Effect background die from Winnie & Walter, and then I glued them down on a white card base, but in opposite directions (if that makes sense), which gives an interesting abstract effect. I cut the butterflies using Concord & 9th's Floral & Flutter Dies and lime card stock, and then I cut them again from blue card stock so I could insert the blue parts in the centers as you see above. The word "beautiful" was cut with Concord & 9th's Beautiful You dies from navy card stock. I stamped the word "hello" (from Concord & 9th's Let's Chat stamp set) on navy card stock and embossed in white. I wanted to add some navy sequins to my card but didn't have any so I colored some clear sequins with a Copic B99 Agate marker. This is a great little "cheat" that I do often when I don't have the color sequins I want.

So there you have it. I really love this color combo and I hope you do too. Please stop by The Challenge blog to see what the design team created this week, and then be sure to play along!

Sunday, March 13, 2016

I used some new products from Lil' Inker Designs to make my card. The patterned papers I used are from their Easter Greetings Paper Pack. The bunny, large egg and small eggs were all cut with dies from LID, and the bunny is stamped with a sentiment from the Easter Hodge Podge stamp set. I coated the "Happy Easter" sentiment with Glossy Accents and added a few sequins to finish this card.

I'll be back tomorrow with a card for The Challenge, hope you'll stop by!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Hello! I'm back after a week long vacation in Georgia. My daughter and I flew down to visit my mom and sister. We had a wonderful time, enjoying the Georgia sunshine (although it did SNOW on the first day we were there, we could hardly believe our eyes lol!) I just love the Atlanta area, so much to see and do, so many great restaurants and shops, and one of my favorite places I ever lived. It's where my husband and I met and were married, so it will always hold a very special place in my heart.

I just LOVE the bunnies from RC's Hippity Hoppity stamp set and couldn't wait to create my first card using them! Here I chose to use the girl bunny and I colored her with Copics. The tag was cut from PTI Hibiscus Burst card stock using Thanks Tag Confetti Cut. The hearts on the left were cut from PTI Summer Sunrise and Vintage Jadite card stock using Stamped Notes Confetti Cuts and for the little hearts on the right I used the line of hearts from Love Note, cutting them apart. I covered the tiny hearts with Glossy Accents and sprinkled them with yellow glitter. I also added little dots of Glossy Accents and glitter to the 2 large hearts, and to the flower on the bunny's dress. The plaid paper in the background is from Lawn Fawn.

I've got another card coming on Tuesday using the boy bunny from the Hippity Hoppity stamp set. Hope you'll stop by to see it :)

Monday, March 7, 2016

Happy Monday, friends! Today at The Challenge we have an awesome sketch for you to try!

I used my new Paper Smooches birdhouse dies for the first time on this card, aren't they cute?!! I placed them on a piece of plaid Lawn Fawn paper. I just love the fresh, Spring colors of the plaids in this paper pad. The sentiment is from Winnie & Walter. I gold embossed the word "spring" and fussy cut it, and the words "is" and "here" were stamped on PTI Simply Chartreuse card stock and embossed with white embossing powder. The card base is PTI Spring Rain card stock, as are the little birds. I added some gold cord to "hang" the birdhouses from, and finished the card with some Pretty Pink Posh clear sequins.

I really love this sketch, it's so versatile and I think it's one I'll use over and over again. I hope you'll join us this week! Please be sure to pop over to Lesley's blog to see what the DT members created with this sketch, and then be sure to play along :)

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Hello! We have a new challenge for you today at Sparkle & Shine, and our fabulous sponsor is Create a Smile Stamps! The winner of this challenge will receive a $25.00 gift card to their online store and will be asked to be our guest designer for next month.

I wanted to use a shamrock on my card but realized I had no shamrock stamps (or dies or paper or stickers or anything else!) So I decided to use some die cut hearts and make my own shamrock. I colored the hearts with my ink blending tool and distress inks (Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron). I added some water droplets on the hearts, then assembled them into a shamrock. The white base of the card is Tim Holtz watercolor paper which I colored using my Gansai Tambi gold watercolor. I used a wide flat brush and made swipes across the paper until it looked how I wanted it to. I cut 2 of the bookmarks (from Papertrey Ink), one from gold glitter paper and one from white card stock. I wish I'd been able to take a better picture, the bottom tag looks almost brown in this picture but it's actually a lovely, sparkly gold! I stamped the sentiment, also from Papertrey Ink, on the white bookmark. I finished the card with some gold sequin trim from Concord & 9th clipped to the bookmark with a tiny clothespin.

My sister's birthday is March 17th so this will be the perfect card to give to her :)

I hope you'll join us for this challenge, I can't wait to see what you create! Be sure to visit the Sparkle & Shine Challenge blog to see what all of the design team members created to inspire you!